Kiln car construction



Sept- 29, 1931. Y G. D. MoRRls l 1,824,917

Filed sept. so. 1929 INVENTO GEORGE 2Mo? QM www ATTORNEY x.. Kw mv GEORGE D. MORRIS, or NEW cAsrLE,.1 PENNSYLVANIA, AssrGNoRf :To *NEW CASTLE REERAcronIEs COMPANY, or .NEW CASTLE,

YPatented Sept.l 29, k1931 UNITED STATES 0ppm-E DELAWARE PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION' 0E' KILN oA-R ooNsT'RUomIoN Application' m'ea"`september 3o, 19291 serial Ne. '396111.

The present inventionV relates to i-inprove'k ments inthe construction of kiln carsl or"` trucks used for carrying-goods to be h eatf treated through a continuous tunnel l'rrln.

The superstructure'of-such cars is usuaslly formed by al plurality of superposedhorizontally extending courses of refractory mem-i bers. mounted Vonl a wheeled 5 nretallicfra-me.

Thevv three upper courses of the-superstructure generallyv comprise a middle course'hav-V ing a plurality k'of spaced apart'girder tiles extending transversely' of the" car and p'o'si= tioned between vertically spaced' courses of' v per'slabcourseA `The individualy slabs ofthe lowercourse, on which the; girder tiles are directly supported,u`sually extend theA entire width of the cargand 'because'v of theflinear proportionsy of the slabs and the heavy loadsV and high temperatures to which they arer subjected, are frequently brokenin' use. The individual goods supporting slabsjvusually extend transversely onlya part of thev width' of` the car. e l v y In heat treating certainl classes ofgoods it is necessary to provide axbed of sand on the goods supporting slabs andin Vwhich'the goods are placed. InasmuchA asthe refractory blocks and slabs' in the superstructure are not rigidly connected `becausejo'f the expansion spaces required, -precautions kmust be takenl to prevent the ysand on the uppermost slabs-from filtering c down into the; jointsin the lower courses of the super'- structure. Sand'. collecting int'hese Yjoints prevents the normalfexpansion of the' refractory members -and: rapidly effects' theV destruction of the car. superstructure'. e

Arrangements have been heretofore proposed to intercept and vstore sand filtering down' lbetween some'y of the ljoints between` tically eliminated. A further" object offmy vinvention is to provide an improved arrangement and' construction-of the s-labs on which the girder- 'tiles are directly support-4 ed characterized by a :decrease in fthe-.transf verse-dimensionsof theslabs-and' novel provisions for preventing the entrance of'sandf into the slab joints. i

The various features of' novelty which chai-acteriael mjy invention are pointed out with particularityin the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For abetter understanding of the invention, however, and' `the. advantages 'possessed by: itreferen'ee should be had-to the -accomp any@ ing drawings and descriptive )matter which li'ave illustrated and described pre-` ferredenibodiments vof the invention. l AvOfthe drawings:v Fig. Y is Va sectionalV elevation lpartly broken away of a kiln car embodying my invention;` Y' Fig. 2 is a section onfthe linel`2i--2 of Fig.v 1; and Y Y Y Fig. 3 isf a vpersp'ective* view vwith parts broken away of afmodified construction.

y In `the drawings andjparticularly in the: construction illustrated in Figs. 1- and 2, a tunnel kiln carisillnstrated having a: me;-

the rectangular frame A. The' course C 'of` the 4superstructure consists 'of a plurality of massive* refractory .blocks C7 .arranged at and withinthe marginal portions of the framen'iember flange A?. The centenpor-v 'tion' of the Ycourse is fllledwith vsuperposed re. clayblocks. The course D ofV the superstructurekv also comprises refracto blocks Dl 'along the marginal' portions o the cair and central fire clay blocks, the bl'ook'sof the course D being of smaller dimensions than the blocks in the course C. The marginal blocks C and D are preferably formed with their adjacent surfaces interlocking as shown at C2 to limit the outward movement of the'upper blocks on the lower blocks. j

On the:built-upstructure formed by the courses C and D is arranged the third course E consisting of a plurality of flat rectangu-A lar slabs E, each of which is rectangular in form and extends transversely half the width of the car. In a car embodying` the present invention eight of theseslabs were used in this course. The upper surface of each slab may be corrugated as shown to minimize movement of the upper courses of the superstructure thereon. j are preferably arranged onthefblocks of the course D so that the joints between thel blocks D are covered by the slabs. e e

In the present construction I provide means for covering the longitudinally and horizontally extending vertical joints formed bythe adjacent side and end surfaces E2 and E3, respectively, ofthe slabs E;..For this purpose the Vgirders or rails which/form the course F ofthesuperstructure are positioned over the transversely extending joints of the'slabs E. Each girder extends the full width of the car and is preferably a one-piece block of refractory inaterial. As shown, five of these girders F F2, F3, F4 and F5 are used, thegirders F and F5 being located along the front and rear .edges of they car respectively. Inasmuch as the girders F and F5 havey no slab joint protectingfunction, they may bev made of the usual I-beam cross section. The girders F3, F3 and F4 are of the preferred cross sectional shape and construction illustrated in my said prior application. Each ofthese girders has a general rect-angular cross-section inodilied by a deep recess or groove F6 formedk in the upper and lower surfaces thereof andextending throughout the length of the girder. The upper and lower surfaces F 7 and Fs,respectively of each girder adjacent the grooves FG are flat and ar. ranged to support agoods supporting platform course G. y j

The goods supporting platform, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is composed of a plurality of slabs Gr having substantially the saine dimensions and shape as the slabsE. The slabs G are arranged on theV supporting girders so that the transversely extending vertical joints between the front and rear end surfaces G3 of each pair of adjacent slabs isV positioned directly over the top groove FG .of the corresponding supportin girder. Wirth this construction any sand, on te goods supporting platform which works down be? tween the transversely extending joints thereof, will fall into the grooves F3 directly therebelow. The grooves are of sufficient size to store a substantial amount of sand, which may be removed after the car is withdrawn from the kiln by a suitable tool orY vacuum pipe. The double groove arrangement permits inversion and increases the 7 period of use of the girders.

With the arrangement heretofore de-V scribed any sand which works down into the longitudinally extending joints formed by the side surfaces G3 of adjacent slabs G 7 will fall directly onto the slabs E and unless the latter are made in one pieceextending the width of the car with consequent liability to breakage, willwork down into the longitudinallyY extending joints therein. 8 Since the smaller size slabs are Vdecidedly preferable,xthe longitudinal Vjoints between the slabs E are veach covered by a series of convexly curved shallow plates I-I, each of which extends between and is held against 8 longitudinal movement by the vertical sides of the adjacent girders.

Movement of the plates H transversely of the `car kis prevented-'by the formation of upstanding iianges E4 at the inner sides of 9 the slabs E. The individual slab lianges only extend part of the length of the' corresponding slab because of the space thereonV required for supporting the transverse girders. The flanges thus aid in arranging the 9 girders in position. y

Insome cases each slab E may be preferably formed with a shallow groove E5, as shown in Fig. 3, in lieu of the flange E4 heretofore described. When so constructed the cover plate is positioned with its lower edges H in the grooves E5. This arrangement decreases the effective height of the cover plates and thereby improves the trans-Y verse4 circulation of the kiln atmosphere through the passages between the girders and also through the circulation openings formed by the cut out portions Gin the slabs Itis also advantageous in that similarfgrooves may be formed in thel low- 1 slabs whereby if warping of the slab should occur, the slaby may beinverted or reversed and its eectivey life thereby increased.

vWhile in accordance with the provisions l of the statutes, I have illustrated and de-v scribed the'best form of embodiment of my invention now knownV to me, it will be apparent to those" skilled in the art that changes may bev made in the form ofthe ap- 1 'paratus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims and that in some cases certain features of my invention maybe used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features. y 'j c Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: y

ll. vA tunnel 4kiln car having a superstruciso l0 er surface or at the opposite side ofthe ture comprising a plurality of refractory slabs having adjacent edge surfaces forming longitudinally and transversely extending joints, a plurality of supporting'gir'ders extending transversely ofsaid car and positioned over said transversely lextending Slab joints, and cover plates `mounted onsaid slabs between said transverse girders and ex-` ture comprising a pair of rectangular refractory slabs having their adjacent side edge surfaces in Contact and forming a' joint extending longitudinal-ly of said car, and a' cover plate mounted on said slabs and extending over said longitudinally extending joint.

4. A tunnel kiln car having a superstructure comprising a plurality of refractory slabs having adjacent edge surfaces forming longitudinally and transversely extending joints, a plurality of supportinggirders extending transversely of said .car and positioned over said transversely extending slab joints, cover plates mounted on ,said slabs between said transverse girders and extending over said longitudinally extending slabk joints, and means on each of said slabs for maintaining the'corresponding cover plate in position.

5. A tunnel kiln car having a superstruclside and end edge surfaces in contact with the side and edge surfaces of adjacent slabs, thereby forming a plurality of longitudinally and transversely extending joints, and means for preventing the entrance of sand into said joints.

7. In a tunnel kiln car having a super- .n structure consisting of a plurality of superposed courses of refractory members, an intermediate course comprising a plurality of rectangular refractory slabs having their adjacent edge portions forniing longitudinally and transversely extending joints,a plural- Vity of girders mounted on said slabs and' positioned over said transversely extending joints, a goods supporting platform mounted on said girders and comprising a plurality of rectangularv refractory slabs having their adjacent edge portions forming longitudinally and transversely extending joints above andin alignment with 'said lirst mentioned oints, a sand receiving groove in the f supporting surface of said girders below said last mentioned transversely extending joints, and cover platesl positioned on said first mentioned slabs between said girders and extending over said first mentioned longitudinally extending joints and below said lastk mentioned longitudinally extending joints. y

8. A tunnel kiln car superstructure comprising a pair of rectangular refractory slabs having their adjacent lside edge surfaces forming a joint extending longitudinally of said superstructure, a longitudinally extending groove in each of said slabs adjacent said joint,and a cover plate positioned in said grooves and extendingover said joint.

Signed at-New. Castle, in the county of Lawrence and State of Pennsylvania, this 24th day of September, A. D. 1929.

L GEORGE D. MORRIS.

turev comprising a pluralityof rectangular,

refractory slabs having their adjacent side and end surfaces arranged to forni a plurality of longitudinally and transversely `extending joints, a plurality of girders extending transversely of said car, a goods supporting platform mounted on said girders, said girders being positioned on said slabs over said transversely kextending joints, refractory cover plates positionedbetween said girders and extending over said longitudinally extending joints, and means adjacent the edge portion of each of said slabs for maintaining the corresponding cover plate in position. j

6. In a tunnel kiln car superstructure having a plurality of superposed courses of rej yfractory blocks and slabs, an intermediate course comprising a plurality of rectangular refractory slabs, each of said slabs having its esv 

